The Maze In My Lover's Face
by coldqueen
Summary: Mai can't sleep during a case and Lin is more than happy to keep her occupied.


**Title: **The Maze In My Lover's Face

**Genre:** Anime

**Series: **Ghost Hunt

**Characters:** Mai Taniyama, Lin Koujo

**Spoilers: **N/A

**Rating: **Mature

**Summary: **Mai can't sleep during a case and Lin is more than happy to keep her occupied.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own it.

* * *

When he woke in the middle of the night the first thing he did was reach for her. When his hand scraped across cold sheets Lin stirred enough to open his eyes and search the shadows of the room and realize with a soft sigh that she wasn't there. It wasn't unusual for Mai to be restless during a case, the nature of her abilities sometimes kept her from dreaming comfortably. Normally when they were forced to take quarters in the client's home they'd respect their host and sleep apart, but not only was the loft they were investigating not occupied, they had also been hired by the board of directors for the high rise building. Their 'client' didn't care what happened in the apartment while they investigated, they just wanted the reports of disturbances to stop so their tenants would stop violating their leases and leaving them with vacancies that were increasingly difficult to fill.

Lin had been resolute that they would continue their principle of keeping their personal lives separate from their investigations, but when she'd wrapped her thin arms around his waist, her small fingers stealthily sliding under the loose cloth of his button up and tickling across the small of his back, he hadn't been able to resist her desire to sleep in the same bed. He'd insisted that they not go further than the lingering kisses she'd coaxed from him, despite all urges to the contrary. Their teammates were resting just on the other side of the too thin walls and Mai was not a quiet lover.

It hadn't been a hardship for him to consent to her request. He'd gotten used to the warm weight of her even in sleep, though he'd never admit as much. They didn't speak about what was happening between them, didn't force a label on something that had evolved so naturally that most times Lin couldn't accurately describe how they went from cordial colleagues to being so intricately entwined that he couldn't sleep without her.

She had been gone long enough for her side of the pallet to have gone cold and showed no sign of returning. In fact, despite the thin nature of the walls, Lin couldn't hear any noise other than the soft breathing of their colleagues in the next room. It wasn't until he was ten steps past their door that he realized he'd neglected to pull on shoes or a shirt; Mai had requisitioned the top to his pajamas and insisted cheekily that he'd be better able to keep her warm during the cool night with a bare chest. Since he enjoyed the way she slept with her head just over his heart, often drowsily tapping her fingers along his ribs in rhythm with his heartbeat, Lin hadn't minded her small theft. While he wasn't a modest man the thought that any one of their friends could wake up and find him so bare and unguarded was a bit discomforting.

Then he looked up and saw her curled up on the marble counter and the idea of caring about anything other than having her back in his arms fell aside. She hadn't bothered to dress anymore than he, her bare legs curled tightly beneath her as she gazed solemnly out the seamless windows that made up the top half of the outer walls of the apartment. It made for a breath taking view in the dark, the lights of the streets and houses below were shining like multicolored stars but the dark sky above seemed oppressive by comparison.

"You could've woken me," he announced quietly, a small tilt at the corner of his lips the only sign of his amusement. Mai could read his subtle facial expressions better than most, though Naru remained the best.

"And have your shiki scolding me all day for you being tired and cranky?"

"When have my shiki ever scolded you?"

She grinned, biting her tongue lightly before shrugging. The small movement jostled the fabric of his shirt, causing it to slide slowly off the bare skin of her shoulder. His eyes lingered there for several seconds before his ears actually registered that she'd spoken again. 撤"Perhaps scolding isn't the best term. Sometimes I can feel them glaring coldly, though."

"My shiki might actually love you more than I do, try a different excuse," Lin suggested, crossing the room until he could brace himself on the window, leaning down to brush a kiss against her temple, lingering long enough for the soft apple scent of her shampoo to pervade his senses.

"You looked so peaceful I couldn't bear to wake you?" She offered, tilting her head back and nipping at his chin teasingly. Her tawny hair was still rumpled from their pillow and Lin ran his fingers through it, enjoying the way the silky strands flowed over his skin. He didn't answer her verbally but instead answered her with a kiss, waiting until he could feel the tremble that ran through her body before he released her lips. She sighed, her small fingers wrapped tight enough around his bicep that her nails bit sharply into his skin. "Y添ou shouldn't kiss me like that when we have an audience."

"He's seen us do worse."

"And I'd like to not repeat that experience. There's a reason we no longer inhabit the same apartment," Naru remarked from his position on the other side of the room. Lin didn't need to look at him to know the look of disdain that twisted his features. Naru had been the first to draw Lin's attention to the fact that he and Mai shared a mutual attraction (and in a way had thus given his blessing for the older man to approach her). However, the one time he'd returned to their shared apartment and found the couple entwined on the sofa had been one too many for the younger man, within a week he'd found other lodgings; though, to be fair, Lin and Mai had not taken that as in invitation to move in together. They'd waited another two months before making that decision.

Lin ignored the snide comment in favor of a bland look. 滴ow are the readings?"

"Nonexistent; we've been here a week and I have seen no indication of paranormal activity,Naru replied, shutting his laptop with a quiet click and standing to stretch. 展e'll be leaving in the morning. This is a waste of time."

"The pursuit of the truth is never a waste of time,Mai retorted, 殿nd if it reassures them, then what's the harm?"

"The harm is that we could be investigating activity that _is _harmful. There are several other cases waiting that have the potential to be valid, two of which have already resulted in injury, including what I suspect to be a confirmed sighting of Kuchisake," Naru explained in his patented condescending tone. Lin was surprised Naru had bothered explaining himself, it went against the man's base nature to do so. Indeed the very act seemed to drain the last of his energy and without another word Naru left the two of them alone, his footsteps just barely audible as he retired to the bedroom he'd claimed for himself.

Mai shifted in the circle of his arms, leaning into his chest and resting her head on his shoulder. Her breath was a soft whisper in the shadowed hollow of his jawline but he appreciated the way the warmth spread from that small spot and through his entire body. 的"I hate it when he's right."

"Did he even notice that you're only wearing my shirt?"

"Nope," Mai answered with a soft, husky giggle, 登"or he noticed and just didn't say anything."

Lin curled her tighter against him, his free hand sliding back and forth on her bare thigh, his fingers brushing the hem of his shirt where it barely concealed her modesty before sweeping back to her knee. The small pressure he exerted turned her into his body, sheltered her from the eyes of anyone who might wander down the hall and into the living area. 鏑"Let us assume he did not notice."

"Why, Lin, is that a note of jealousy I hear?" Mai inquired, pressing a small kiss to the corner of his lips, laughing lightly when he mockingly glared down at her.

"I'm not jealous, I'm...protective," he argued back, deliberately switching his hand to her inner thigh just to watch the blood flush her cheeks. Her breath caught in her throat and she instinctively tightened her legs, trapping his hand in the intimate position.

"You're being scandalous," Mai noted. 展"Weren't you just telling me that we shouldn't 'engage in relations' at work? That it was unprofessional? That was just a few hours ago, and now here you are with your hand almost touch-" Her words stumbled and stopped, his fingers sliding two inches higher and expertly finding the small nub that would bring her pleasure even through her cotton panties. He stroked her slowly, circling the muscle in tighter and tighter cycles until he was manipulating her directly and her hips rocked against his hand. Mai licked her lips and stared at him through half-open eyes, bracing herself on the counter as he stimulated her relentlessly.

"According to Naru, we are done with this job," Lin told her, hooking his thumb in the top of her panties and rubbing his thumb back and forth soothingly on the muscles that jumped and tensed just under her skin. 鄭"And I have missed you." Lin could tell that she was close to finishing, her body moved wantonly and her eyes closed tightly, a low keening moan rattled from her throat and her head fell back against his arm as he braced himself on the glass. 滴"Have you missed me?"

"I can be quiet," was her answer and Lin smiled his approval. He'd woken half-aroused, but that was something he'd come to expect since he and Mai had begun their relationship. If she wasn't in his arms, she was in his dreams, and it was more than enough to provoke his body. Seeing her half-dressed and sleep-tussled had stoked that want to a need and Lin knew he wouldn't be able to resist her again.

She flattened her hands against the counter and he slid her underwear off her body in one smooth move. She twisted to face him, her legs falling open and cradling his hips and Lin would never tell her but he felt more comfortable there than he had anywhere since he'd come to Japan. She was home for him; warm, welcoming, and loving, safe and challenging all at once. Since their initial consummation they hadn't gone longer than five days without being together, and now it had been a week and he could feel his lust for her like electricity swimming in his veins. It was sharp and tactile and ached with every movement.

Together they pushed the elastic waistband of his bottoms until they were out of the way and Lin could feel her fingers trembling when they brushed his. With all obstacles removed Mai grasped the edge of the counter and hooked her legs around his, hesitating only to allow him to align their bodies. Despite his stimulation of only minutes before Lin still had to ease his entry, using short, shallow movements that grew progressively deeper. The rhythmic motion reminded Lin of the ocean tides, rushing back and forth on the sand, creeping higher and higher until everything was wiped away and washed back out to sea. He couldn't be sure who was the ocean and who was the beach in that metaphor, but either way he was already drowning. She was arching her back and tightening her body around him, using her hold on the counter to press her body into his with all her strength until it was difficult to tell where he ended and she began.

When he was seated as deep inside her as he could get, Lin executed a slow hip roll that he knew would press him firmly against the bundle of sensitives nerves hidden inside her body. He'd memorized her every erogenous zone and knew how she wanted to be touched and when and would always do his best to make sure she was satisfied. Mai had never been good at hiding her emotions, he wasn't the only one who could read her so easily, but he would be the last to discover the way she looked when she was seconds from orgasm and desperate for that last momentum to send her over. She was looking at him with eyes glazed over and heavy and her lips pursed temptingly as she whined impatiently, her hips moving insistently until he answered her movements with a few of his own. Her heels pressed into the back of his thighs hard enough that he suspected he'd have bruises in the morning but she was coming apart in his arms and any thought of the morning was blown out of his head when the muscles of her body undulated around him and her mouth slackened around a breath he knew would become a scream if he let it.

He pressed his lips to hers, swallowing down the noise before it could escape and lost his breath as he did so. His eyes shut tightly but lights moved in the shadows as his head swam and his body moved without bidding, pumping into Mai's relentlessly, the aftershocks of her orgasm a tantalizing invitation for him to follow. She melted in his arms, laying back and bracing herself on her elbows and watching the way their bodies moved together, and the sight of her loving smile was all he needed to find his own end. His hips stuttered to a stop and he didn't even have the strength to stop himself from laying over her, but she welcomed his weight and held him until he'd stopped trembling and found the wherewithal to brace himself above her once again.

"You never told me why you couldn't sleep," Lin commented, stepping back and holding out his hand to help her down, smiling to himself when her legs refusing to bear her weight. He gave her a few seconds to find her balance before releasing her. He knelt and retrieved her underwear, letting his fingers linger on her skin as he slid them back onto her body, amused at the way she could still blush even after all they'd done to each other.

"I was feeling frustrated," Mai admitted, sliding her hand into his as she started to lead them back to the bedroom. Lin silently checked in with his shiki, relieved to find that despite not being as quiet as he would've liked, their colleagues had not awoken. They crept past the occupied bedroom and within minutes were curled up together on their pallet, her back to his front and Mai already drifting to sleep.

"Frustrated?"

She nodded and elaborated, 鉄"Sexually. Sleeping without you was bad enough, but I hadn't gotten more than a kiss in a week. You and your 'professional ethics'," Mai scoffed, though Lin could detect her jovial tone and knew she was smiling to herself.

"When we get married it will be easier. Clients can't expect married couples to sleep apart."

Suddenly Mai wasn't sleepy anymore.

"When we-"

"-get married," Lin finished, enjoying the way her mouth open and shut several times before she could actually speak again.

"That's not a question."

"No, it's not."

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Review, please.


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